{ let there be cake! }

I have a friend who is the most wonderfully sarcastic lesbian you will ever meet in your life!  She is British (of course!) and married an LPGA Pro she had been shacked up with for years while the two of them were at a tourney in California last month.... since they don't keep love apart over there.  But that's another topic... I'm not here to get on my political soapbox, don't you worry!

When they got home and shared the story of their court house nuptials, my besties and I jumped into action and threw a "wedding reception" of sorts for the lucky ladies.  While the others "pot-lucked" the food, I took charge of the cake!

Here is my inspiration...

In this pic {above} that is a fondant cake, with the lines hand rolled in.  Then you take a dot of buttercream to hold those little pearls in place.  Top it off with a fondant bow and voilà!  Except.... not so much!  I am so new at working with fondant that I smusshed it in too much and had my lines all out of whack.  I must've taken it off and replaced it 2-3 times before I collapsed on the floor in my kitchen with my head in my lap crying.  My fiancé knows me so well.... he immediately poured me a humungo glass of red wine that was practically half the bottle!  

After that little meltdown, I decided to scrap the fondant top and just stick with buttercream frosting and a bow!  So... I made the prettiest bow ever and tried to spray it with this silver food dye spray can stuff and BIG MISTAKE! 

{I know... tragic}

Round 2! No spray paint...

I let it set up with these baking liners, but you can also use wax paper rolled up :)

{ even walker helped cheer me up... }

And here is the finished product!  Vanilla Chiffon cake, chocolate mouse and fresh strawberry filling with chocolate red wine cake layered in the middle.  YUMMM!

Here are the recipes I used.... my only advice.... SCREW FONDANT! lol  

(except for the bow - that came out pretty)

Ta ta,

Lisa

Vanilla Chiffon Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold water

1/2 cup canola oil

5 large eggs, separated

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees 

1. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl then mix well.

2. Pour-in the cold water, canola oil, egg yolks, and vanilla extract then whisk until the texture becomes smooth. Set aside.

3. Transfer the egg whites in a separate mixing bowl and combine cream of tartar.

4. Beat the egg white and cream of tartar mixture using an electric mixer (high speed) until texture becomes fluffy. (medium peaks forming)

5. Beat-in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar a teaspoonful at a time and continue mixing until everything is properly distributed.

6. At this point, you should have two mixing bowls with different mixtures. Combine the egg white mixture with the egg yolk mixture gradually by folding the egg white mixture in the egg yolk mixture (start with 1/4 of the egg white mixture followed by another 1/4 until everything is fully combined).

7. Grease two 9-10″ round cake pan and pour-in the folded mixture equally.

8. Bake both cake pans for 33 minutes.

Let the pans cool on a rack before transferring the cake to cool over night.

Chocolate Red Wine Cake

 1 cup butter

 1 cup white sugar

 4 eggs

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

 2 teaspoons baking powder

 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

 1/2 cup red wine

 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1.   Preheat oven to 360 degrees F (170 degrees C). Grease an 9 inch cake pan.

2.   In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar and eggs until smooth and creamy; add the vanilla and chocolate chips and mix well.

3.   In a small bowl, mix baking powder and flour; add to creamed mixture.

4.   Add red wine and mix well, but not for too long. Add cocoa powder to taste.

5.   Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour; let cool and decorate. 

Dark Chocolate Mousse Filling

1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

1/2 tablespoon water

1/2 cup chilled heavy cream

2 tablespoons coffee liqueur

2 large egg yolks

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1.   In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until softened.

2.   Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream until softly whipped. Refrigerate until chilled, about 10 minutes.

3.   In a small, microwave-safe bowl, heat the coffee liqueur at high power until hot, about 45 seconds. Stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved.

4.   In another medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and salt at high speed until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. While beating the yolks, beat in the coffee-gelatin liquid; scrape the side and bottom of the bowl. Beat in the melted chocolate. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream in 2 additions.

5.   Scrape the mousse into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.

and last but not least... THE SIMPLEST AND TASTIEST VANILLA BUTTERCREAM RECIPE TUTORIAL EVER!

Good luck!